Mission and Meaning: Senior Sages are particularly motivated when this double-barreled success is associated with a sense of mission. If their favored nonprofit organization has a clear mission and vision of what is needed and being sought, then success for Senior Sages is much sweeter and their energetic commitment to do more is that much greater. When the mission, for instance, concerns the welfare of children, passion is easily ignited—and Senior Sages readily find personal fulfillment. There is nothing quite like saving the life of a child or helping a child toward a promising future. It is in seniors’ work with children that we often find the most significant kind of generativity—a merging of two or even three modes of generativity.
Quiet Generativity
Most Emerging and Senior Sage leaders want to leave a legacy, a footprint in the sand. As Kotre (1984) noted, they want to live beyond self. But they don’t care if anyone knows this is their footprint. They are doing civic community work to feed their own spirit and to witness an impact that goes well beyond the gratification of their egos. There certainly is nothing wrong with getting a little credit for the work being done, but this is not their primary motivation. It is important for a professional coach to remember this—they should take off their hat as business coach sometimes and put on their hat as Gratification Coach.
Often, no one else in the community knows about the phenomenal amount of work being done by any Sage leader, but it is not important to them that they know. As reported earlier, one very senior woman who has played a major leadership role over many decades speaks of “giving quietly” and “leading quietly.” As she expresses it, “The good Lord knows, and that’s enough.” This is true charity and the essence of Generativity Four.
One of us has seen this same quiet generativity in full non-display on the part of a generous woman in Maine who makes great contributions to her local community yet insists that these contributions remain unacknowledged. She has bought and fully supported a high-quality restaurant in her community, bought and supported a farm that provides fresh products to the local community, and contributed extensively to many community charities. Yet, little of this is known those living in the community. It is only through the hesitant revelation of one of her close friends that we are aware of these contributions. Once again, quiet generativity is in full operation.
Lifelong Learning
There is also the meaning and satisfaction that comes from learning something new while engaged in civic leadership. This often is a quiet enterprise. It typically is only identified when a Generative Four leader is asked to reflect on their own deep caring—often during a coaching session. Apparently, as generative adults we continue to learn and find new challenges to be a source of insight rather than pure challenge and overwhelm. The coaching sessions can themselves be important sources of new learning.
This commitment to lifelong learning is conveyed through the words offered by Dan, one of our four Featured Players. As you might recall, Dan had served as president of a university and previously was a successful physicist. What is there still to learn, having lived the life of researchers and educator? Apparently, there is still much to learn:
